Senators Crapo, Lincoln, Baucus, Grassley Praised by National Environmental Leaders for Introducing Bill to Help Save Endangered Species on Private Lands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense, 202-572-3331 or scrowley@environmentaldefense.org
Aislinn Maestas, National Wildlife Federation, 202-797-6624 or maestas@nwf.org
William Lutz, Defenders of Wildlife, 202-772-0269

Washington, D.C. – The leaders of three leading national environmental groups today praised Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) for introducing and Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT) for cosponsoring a new bill to provide financial incentives for private landowners to help save endangered plants and animals. The bill introduction is significant because all four senators are key members of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax credit legislation; Senators Grassley and Baucus are the top ranking Republican and Democratic members of the committee.

Environmental Defense, National Wildlife Federation and Defenders of Wildlife sent a letter thanking Senators Crapo, Lincoln, Baucus and Grassley for sponsoring The Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2006 (S. 4087) [PDF]. The legislation would provide $400 million annually in new tax credits, plus additional deductions and exclusions, for private landowners who take steps to help endangered or threatened species on the properties they own, such as the northern Idaho ground squirrel, the red-cockaded woodpecker in Arkansas, the bull trout in Montana, and the Topeka shiner (a fish) in Iowa.

The bill provides new tax credits for landowners who agree to put easements on their property or agree to restore, enhance or manage endangered species habitat on their land. It also expands tax deductions for any landowner who takes part in the recovery plans specified under the Endangered Species Act, and allows landowners to exclude from taxable income certain federal payments under cost-share conservation programs.

“We need programs like this one that provide farmers, ranchers, family forest owners and other landowners with the financial tools they need to protect the hundreds of endangered animal and plants in our country that depend heavily on private lands,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, which recently convinced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency to initiate a program to restore up to a quarter million acres of longleaf forests that will rebuild rare wildlife habitat, and boost bob-white quail and turkey populations. “Environmental Defense has proposed and supported cooperative conservation programs for years, so we naturally support this effort. We thank Senators Crapo, Lincoln, Baucus and Grassley for their leadership on this vital issue.”

“This bill represents the future of wildlife conservation in America,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “Providing landowners with real economic incentives to save America’s imperiled wildlife has been the missing puzzle piece in protecting endangered species. Senators Crapo, Lincoln, Baucus and Grassley have set a high mark for what legislation in the next Congress should look like.”

“Partnering with private landowners on wildlife conservation is absolutely critical,” said Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen. “This legislation provides key incentives to enlist more landowners in this effort, which benefits people and endangered species alike. Senators Crapo, Lincoln, Baucus and Grassley are to be congratulated for their foresight on this vital issue and we look forward to working with them in the new Congress.”

The full text of the letter is below.